I know very little about WWII subject matter and even less about WWII German subjects so I’ve got a few questions about a 1/72 FW-190 I’m going to build.
I’m going to be making an F-8 version using Revell’s A-8/R-11 (thats kit #04165)
The particular aircraft I’m going to make is W. Nr. 930838 which was captured in 1944 by the Yugoslav Liberation Army.
My understanding is that an A-8 to an F-8 conversion is a pretty easy thing to do with an FW-190, that the only external difference was that the F-3 had the outboard wing guns removed. Is that correct? Or were there more external differences?
Another question I have is regarding antenna fit. There is an antenna just aft of the gear well under the left wing in the wing root area that has a curved end and almost reaches the ground (part 27 in my kit). I’ve found a few profiles and several photos on the internet of F-8s and some seem to have this antenna and others clearly don’t. The profile in the instructions of the decals I bought shows the antenna on the captured Yugoslav one, but I found a profile on the net that showed it without.
As I’m sure antenna fit changed quite frequently, is there any general rule about the presence or absence of this particular one on FW-190s? I normally wouldn’t worry about it, but it is a fairly noticable detail.
I’m not planning to go to town on every little detail, but I would like to get the main external differences right.
The F-8 was the armored close support version of the Fw 190A-8 fighter and without its underwing racks the F-8 was virtually indistinguishable from its fighter counterpart.
As you mentioned the only differences were the removal of the outboard cannons (and sometimes the upper wing rectangular plates associated with the cannons) and the fitting of an ETC 501 fuselage rack as standard.
I have always tended to be very suspicious of profiles as small details such as the antenna you are talking about are either put in or left out based on the artist’s knowledge or mood at the time. Try and find photographic evidence to use a reference.
Darren is correct. As far as the morane antenna under the wing… best thing to do is check the references for that particular aircraft. A-8s and F-8 could be equipped with the antenna. Also check for what type of canopy and later F-8 were equipped with the blown canopy and A-8s were retro fitted as they became available.
Upnorth, canopy should be the flat type, as the bulged canopy did not enter production until January 45.
That’s a great little kit, I’ve built it at least twice already. One thing I’ve learnt is, if you want to avoid gaps at the wing root, glue the rear of the fuselage together but not the front. Then when you add the wing, glue the wing roots to the wing, and allow to set hard before glueing the front of the engine cowl together.